CNN Larry King Live - Transcript
CNN Larry King Live - Transcript
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ING: Let me check in with someone who may be worried, Representative Harold Ford, Jr. Harold Ford, Jr. joins us from Memphis, Tennessee. He's the Democrat seeking to be the United States Senator.
One poll has you behind. By the way, Bob Corker, your opponent, was invited to be a guest tonight. He had a scheduling conflict and couldn't do it. Congressman Ford, one poll has you behind by ten. Another poll has you even. What do you see?
REP. HAROLD FORD (D), TENNESSEE, SENATE CANDIDATE: I think this race boils down to turnout here in Tennessee. We have something called early voting in our state. Some 867,000 people have already cast their ballots. Of that group, there's a 34 percent increase of Democrats voting, a 20 percent increase in Republicans, giving Democrats a 14 percent advantage.
We are encouraged. As we head into this final day or the night before the election all the polls showed a dead heat and I think it boils down, not only to turnout but the intensity, I should say the intensity of the voters on each side. People all across our state are hungry for change and tomorrow they will have an opportunity to go to the polls and express that. But I have to tell you we are encouraged tonight. We are excited and looking forward to a victory tomorrow night here in Tennessee.
KING: Why has this campaign gotten so dirty? FORD: I think there's a group in Washington, Republicans that is, who are so anxious and hungry and determined to hold onto the power structure that they've created for themselves that they have gone all out and really underestimated the decency and goodness of the people here in this state.
They have run ads that have been beneath our integrity, beneath our decency, over and over again. And, frankly, I think that voters not only are going to speak loud and clear tomorrow but are going to send a loud message to the country that this kind of negative, awful, false, misleading and frankly disgusting advertising has no place in American politics.
I hope that that's one of the victories tomorrow as well and clearly a vote for us and a vote for me in this campaign is a clear indication and a clear refutation of the kind of smut and sleaze that we've seen in politics in Tennessee this go-round.
KING: What will you be watching all day?
FORD: Pardon me, sir?
KING: What will you be watching all day?
FORD: Well we're going to spend some time in Memphis in the morning. I'm here tonight. We finished up our campaign just a little while ago here with a culminating rally right in the heart of our district, right in East Memphis.
I will travel to Jackson tomorrow. One of the great stories in our campaign is our stop at the Little Rebel Bar and Grill, a little place with a lot of confederate flags every which way. I'm one of their favorites. They have my paraphernalia, campaign materials up everywhere. We'll go there tomorrow for lunch where we really kicked off this campaign and energized this campaign. We'll make a few stops at polling places tomorrow.
And, I know you said a little earlier that I might be one of the more nervous or anxious candidates. We've had a great campaign manager and one of the unseen campaign managers has been my Lord and Savior. I got great confidence. People in my district and our state want change and it's all in his hands now. We're going to wait tomorrow for the results.
KING: Some pundits have said that if you are defeated it will be due to racism. Do you share that view?
FORD: No, I think that the winner tomorrow and I think it will be us, I know it will be us, it will be because of what we've done in this campaign and no one else. I don't buy into the notion that my state is not ready, is not prepared. We've put everything we have on the table. We laid out every bit of energy. We've laid out every bit of strategy and worked as hard as we possibly can. And I just, I have confidence in the voters here in this state.
All the polling says good things about early voting and how we fared. And I got to tell you, Mr. King, 867,000 voting early they weren't voting for more Katrinas, more wars, and more Mark Foley scandals. They were voting for change and someone to go to Washington and make a difference.
KING: While you're with us Congressman Ford, hold it one minute, because I want to get our analysts here too.
FORD: Sure.
KING: What they think of that early turnout. James Carville is a veteran of these kind of things. What does that say to you that 800,000 people voting early?
CARVILLE: You know what I didn't know that and I got to tell you that encourages me. And I said it earlier I thought that Harold Ford had a good shot in this race. I think he's done the best job of any Democratic candidate and any Republican candidate out there this year. I mean I think he's been (INAUDIBLE).
GERGEN: Of any?
CARVILLE: Any. I think he's the best candidate that we fielded in this cycle and I was -- you saw it tonight in his answers here. You know he's not going to get down in this kind of thing. He very wisely put his faith in the voters of Tennessee and I think that's not an inconsequential statistic in this early voting, although I can't predict like who's going to win off of that but I was heartened to hear that.
KING: J.C., you're on the other side, what do you think of the Ford campaign?
WATTS: No, I think -- I know Harold. Harold is a personal friend and there's a side of me that...
KING: Wants him to win.
WATTS: Well, I (INAUDIBLE). You know I pray for him. No, I think Harold has run a very good campaign and I know throughout this process Republicans have been very concerned. He communicates very well. I think he's done the right thing. He's getting out seeing the people.
And, at the end of the day, that's what you do. You do all that you can. You work hard. As James said earlier, they hay is in the barn and now you've got to let the people decide.
KING: And, Congressman, the best of luck. We'll be checking with you throughout the day tomorrow and hope to have you on with us tomorrow night.
FORD: J.C. say another prayer for me brother.
CARVILLE: We're proud of you. We're proud of you.
KING: Congressman Harold Ford, Jr.
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